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Individual and Cultural Factors Affecting Students' Anxiety During Language Study Abroad

Miller, Nicole Ann
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1239981295

Abstract Details

2009, Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, Communication.
Submersing oneself in a foreign culture for an extended amount of time is a complex process, and students who study abroad experience varying degrees of anxiety while doing so. The present study uses Anxiety/Uncertainty Management Theory and Communication Accommodation Theory to identify certain factors related to this anxiety. Quantitative data in Phase One measured students’ uses of idiomatic expressions in the homestay, ability to tolerate ambiguity, time spent with the host family and proficiency levels to find them all significantly related to anxiety at moderate levels. Phase Two expanded to look at cultural factors associated with anxiety. Students from individualistic cultures experienced significantly lower levels of anxiety while studying a second language in a classroom than students who identify as more collectivistic. Finally, as more time passed, individualistic students displayed higher frequencies of upward convergence behaviors toward individuals from the collectivistic culture.
Teresa L. Thompson, PhD (Advisor)
James D. Robinson, PhD (Committee Member)
Jeffrey L. Griffin, PhD (Committee Member)
113 p.
Communication; Language
study abroad; anxiety; homestay; communication accommodation; cultural identity; AUM Theory; L2 acquisition

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Miller, N. A. (2009). Individual and Cultural Factors Affecting Students' Anxiety During Language Study Abroad [Master's thesis, University of Dayton]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1239981295

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Miller, Nicole. Individual and Cultural Factors Affecting Students' Anxiety During Language Study Abroad. 2009. University of Dayton, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1239981295.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Miller, Nicole. "Individual and Cultural Factors Affecting Students' Anxiety During Language Study Abroad." Master's thesis, University of Dayton, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1239981295

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

dayton1239981295
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© 2009, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Dayton and OhioLINK.